


Perfect Pain

by cassie_star_12 (corvus_ace)



Series: ShuAke Week 2020 [7]
Category: Persona 5, Persona 5 Royal
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Day 7, F/F, I may have retconned the entirety of P5R, M/M, Shuake Week 2020, basically I completely removed Maruki and Morgana, extremely canon divergent, goro's first instinct when he meets a phantom thief is to kill him, he's not actually in the story, i absolutely and accidentally screwed up this timeline, if I write later chapters, maybe I'll add them in a later chapter, no beta we die like okumura, poor akira just wants to talk though, rated teen and up for swearing, same with most of the phantom thieves, shido is only mentioned, sorry in advance if nothing about this makes sense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27740863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corvus_ace/pseuds/cassie_star_12
Summary: ShuAke Week 2020 - Day 7 - Soulmates / Nightmares / Free dayIn a world where soulmates share each other's pain, seventeen-year-old Kurusu Akira is out searching for his other half. Akechi Goro, on the other hand, has sworn never to find his soulmate, unwilling to let Shido use them as leverage against him. The pair finally meet face-to-face, and it doesn't quite go the way either of them expects.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro & Persona 5 Protagonist, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist, Kurusu Akira & Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Kurusu Akira & Sakamoto Ryuji & Takamaki Ann, Niijima Makoto/Okumura Haru, Persona 5 Protagonist & Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Persona 5 Protagonist & Sakamoto Ryuji & Takamaki Ann, Sakura Futaba/Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi, Suzui Shiho/Takamaki Ann
Series: ShuAke Week 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2016971
Comments: 22
Kudos: 131





	Perfect Pain

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aikosai](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aikosai/gifts).



> This one's for Aikosai, for commenting heart emojis on every other work in this series without fail. It warmed my heart and pushed me to finish this last fic. I hope you enjoy it!

Kurusu Akira went searching for his soulmate about three months after his seventeenth birthday. Since soulmate searching was actually encouraged, Shujin Academy agreed to let him miss class for a while. His friends wished him luck, and promised to share their notes with him.

Almost all of his friends had already found their soulmates; the Shujin-goers among their group had been extremely lucky, as some of them were soulmates with each other. Ann and Shiho, the best of friends, had turned out to be soulmates as well; Makoto and Haru had first crossed paths during their first year at Shujin and had known immediately that they were partners. Sumire had stopped by Leblanc once and had instantly connected with the homeschooled Futaba, and after only a month of being friends, they discovered they were soulmates as well. Given the trend, Akira strongly suspected that Ryuji and Kosei student Yusuke would turn out to be a pair as well. (It did not escape his notice that all of them were queer, and that all except Shiho had Personas.)

Unfortunately, this left only Akira. Hence the soulmate searching.

It didn’t take him long to figure out that his soulmate did not attend Shujin Academy. He’d asked a few other seventeen-year-old Shujin students what it felt like when they listened to their soulmate bonds; they’d told him it was like an innate calling, and after three days of trying, Akira came to the conclusion that his bond was pointing the exact opposite direction from Shujin.

So he sighed, checked the time on his phone, and started walking.

★ ☆ ★

Akechi Goro had already decided by his seventeenth birthday that he would _not_ be soulmate searching.

If anyone asked, he had a vast repertoire of reasons: he didn’t have the time; he wasn’t even sure how to find them; he couldn’t risk dedicating weeks of his time to finding one specific person; he wanted to meet them naturally, instead of seeking them out. But those were all just excuses.

The simple truth of the matter was this: if he ever met his soulmate, they would be in constant danger for the rest of their life. Shido would hunt them down and use them as leverage against Goro, or else just kill them on the spot.

Besides, he was used to living a life where no one truly cared about him, and those he cared about always let him down eventually.

So he did his best to ignore the nightmares of what would happen if Shido found Goro’s soulmate and the flashes of pain he received through his soulmate bond, and continued on with his life.

★ ☆ ★

The morning of June 8th, Arsène spoke to Akira in the real world.

**_My thief,_ ** he said. **_You have been focusing on nothing but your soulmate searching for almost five weeks now. It may be wise to take a break._ **

_I promised myself I’d find them,_ Akira said. _Protect them, whoever they are. They go through so much. I can_ feel _how much they go through. Stab wounds, broken bones---there was a gunshot, once._

**_You have your whole life to find them._ **

_Maybe not. What if they die before I can find them?_

**_They will not die._ **

_You don’t know that, Arsène._

Arsène sighed and said, **_Take a break. Go to Mementos and complete a few requests. You need to focus on something else for a little while._ **

“Damn it,” Akira muttered out loud.

In the end, he did go to Mementos after all.

★ ☆ ★

Goro had just finished inducing a mental shutdown on someone when he moved down a level in Mementos and found a Phantom Thief.

It had to be a Phantom Thief. If it wasn’t, that meant there was a third party involved in the Metaverse, and Goro didn’t want to consider the implications of such a situation.

The Thief, who was dressed in some sort of magician’s attire and wore a domino mask, turned to see Goro and made a small noise of surprise. His hair was black and curly, and his eyes were a stormy gray behind the mask. He held no weapon.

“Who the fuck are you?” Goro said quietly.

“Um,” the Thief said. “Hey. I’m Joker; I lead the Phantom Thieves. Are you, uh---are you by any chance the black-masked man that Madarame told us about?”

“You may call me...Crow.”

“Right. Nice to meet you, Crow.”

Goro’s eyes narrowed, and he drew his saber---a long, vicious thing that glowed a blood red, with a serrated edge. He raised it slightly, and the Thief---“Joker”---took a half-step back.

“Leave this place,” Goro said. “Disband your ridiculous group of Thieves.”

“Or?” Joker said, raising an eyebrow.

“Or,” Goro said, “I will kill each one of you myself.”

Then he lunged.

★ ☆ ★

Akira had about one second to draw his own dagger before Crow reached him. Knowing he was already too late to try to dodge, he lifted his weapon and just barely managed to block Crow’s blade.

“Leave,” Crow hissed.

“No,” Akira said.

Crow snarled---then, quicker than lightning, he slashed his saber across Akira’s abdomen.

They both fell to their knees at the exact same time with matching gasps of pain.

Then they froze, as they realized what that meant.

“Fuck,” Crow said. Then, more aggressively: _“Fuck!”_

“No way,” Akira whispered.

Crow forced himself to stand, still clutching his saber. He rested the blade against his dark-gloved right hand and pressed down slightly.

“Sorry, but I have to check,” he said, and he drew the blade across his palm, quick and clean.

Akira gasped in pain again, clutching his own right hand.

Arsène bristled. **_Let me at him, thief, and I will punish him for hurting you intentionally._ **

“Leave him be, Arsène,” Akira mumbled out loud, drawing a strange expression from Crow. “He didn’t mean anything by it. He was just confirming the soulmate bond.”

To Crow, he said, “Are you still going to kill me?”

“At this point, it might be unavoidable,” Crow said after a brief hesitation.

“...what do you mean by that?”

“I swore never to find my soulmate,” he said. “Because the mastermind of the shitshow conspiracy I work for? He would hunt down my other half and use them as leverage. Torture and kill them, even, if it came down to that. They would be in danger forever. I knew by the time I turned seventeen that I would never subject someone to that specific kind of pain. And...I decided I was better off alone, anyway.”

“So, put simply, I’m a liability,” Akira said.

“Yes. You are very much a liability.”

“And yet you swore not to drag me into your conspiracy or whatever?”

“Also yes.”

“So I’m a liability, but still someone worth protecting?” Akira said, now very confused.

“You only became a liability once I knew who you were,” Crow corrected him. “Had we never met, you’d never have become one, and you’d be safe.”

“Safe and alone.”

“If that’s what’s necessary, then yes.”

Akira sighed. “Is there any way to get you out of this conspiracy, then?”

Crow stared at him like he’d grown a second head.

“Of course not,” he said. “If I tried to leave, I’d be dead within hours.”

“Not necessarily,” Akira replied. “I’m guessing you’re the one behind the mental shutdowns and psychotic breaks, right?”

Crow, blinking in surprise, slowly said, “...yes, I am. Is this relevant?”

“Very. So that means you’re essentially a professional assassin, yes?”

“...something like that.”

“Well then, what’s to say you couldn’t escape? If you’re an assassin, the conspiracy should know better than to try to stop you from leaving.”

“I know too much,” Crow said. “If I leave, I can’t be left alive. They’ll make sure I don’t live long enough to reveal them to the public.”

“Then let’s reveal them now,” Akira said.

Crow stared at him again.

“You’re insane,” he finally said.

“No, wait, hear me out,” Akira said. “You reveal the conspiracy tomorrow. Then you hide in the Metaverse for a while. I’ll help you---bring you supplies and shit, keep you hidden, update you on the state of the outside world, et cetera. The conspiracy won’t be expecting the reveal, won’t be able to reach you, _and_ won’t have enough information on me to be able to find or hurt me. The Thieves and I could change the hearts of a few conspiracy members if necessary. Once it’s safe, you come back to the real world, and we can figure out what to do from there.”

By the end of his plan, he could tell Crow was actually considering it.

“It’s risky as hell,” Crow said slowly. “But...it might be possible. I already have the kind of media influence necessary to make the reveal. I already have an interview scheduled for tomorrow, too, so I’ll already be on the air. There are a few people from the conspiracy that work at the TV studio I go to, but they won’t risk trying to kill me when there are civilians around. What I’d _really_ need is a way out of the station that won’t leave me vulnerable to attack.”

“I might be able to help with that,” Akira said. “Where’s the studio located?”

“Akasaka Mitsuke.”

“Perfect!” He grinned. “That’s one of the location choices for my school’s social studies trip. I’ve been taking time off school for my soulmate searching, but all I have to do is say I found them and show up in my uniform. Then, after the show, you come find me, and we’ll get the hell out of there.”

“That’s one hell of a coincidence,” Crow said. “But I don’t know you in the real world.”

“Don’t worry about that. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, I have black hair and gray eyes. I wear glasses in the real world, too. I go to Shujin Academy, so I’ll be in their uniform, if you know what that looks like. I’ll be hanging around a blonde boy with slouching posture and a part-American girl with twin pigtails and blue eyes. Come find me, and we’ll get out.”

“If we do this, Joker, you will be in grave danger for a long time.”

“I know,” Akira said.

“There will be no backing out,” Crow warned him.

“I know that too.”

“Are you sure you want this?”

Akira nodded. “Of course. I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”

“No, I meant....” Crow shook his head. “Never mind.”

“So...are we doing this?”

“You know what? Why the fuck not,” Crow said. “Let’s do it.”

Akira grinned. “Cool.”

“Just...try not to be too disappointed, okay?” Crow said, almost hesitantly. “This isn’t---I’m not---just because we’re soulmates doesn’t mean I’m a good match for you, or for anyone else.”

“I’m sure we’ll be a great pair,” Akira said. “Please don’t worry, Crow, I’m not the kind of person who is overly judgemental.”

Crow sighed. “I’ll choose to believe that for the moment.”

“Good enough for me. Now, we should probably get ready for our first-ever mission together, yeah?”

“Heh. ‘Mission’. I suppose it’s accurate,” he said. “Very well. The Akasaka Mitsuke TV studio, tomorrow?”

“Yep. Black hair, gray eyes, glasses, Shujin Academy uniform.”

“What about your friends?”

“I’ll take care of it,” Akira said.

★ ☆ ★

On June 9th, Akechi Goro stood up on live television and revealed an entire conspiracy.

★ ☆ ★

By the time Goro finished detailing the conspiracy’s main goals and plans, as well as naming multiple major associates, he had identified three different yakuza members in the audience, all of whom worked for Shido. One had already been there; the other two entered halfway through the show, having been alerted to Goro’s betrayal. The host, he knew, was also indirectly connected to Shido, but she couldn’t risk a scene either---her career would be at risk. Anyways, she was distant enough from the main core of the conspiracy that Goro hadn’t seen fit to call her out. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement, albeit unintended---Goro didn’t reveal her, she didn’t hinder his escape.

When the show ended, Goro bowed towards her, the way he normally did---both to maintain appearances and to show his thanks for her choice not to make a scene. She smiled in response, the way _she_ normally did---to keep up the act, and to thank _him_ for not throwing her to the wolves.

Goro then walked off the set.

He didn’t go straight out through the main hallway like he normally did; instead he entered a side hallway, where a few backstage workers were still hanging out.

A few backstage workers---and a few Shujin students.

There was the blond boy with poor posture; there was the part-American girl with pigtails and blue eyes; and beside them, there was a seventeen-year-old boy with curly ebony hair and molten silver eyes, quietly listening to their conversation. As promised, he was in uniform, with his schoolbag over his shoulder.

Not that Goro could be certain just yet.

He walked over to the boy, smiled, and said, “Hello there. You all are Shujin students, yes? Did you enjoy your visit to the studio?”

The dark-haired boy grinned a very familiar grin and replied, “I did. It was certainly very revealing.”

“I see you’re quite the joker,” Goro said. “A rather common personality trait, I’m afraid.”

“And you hold quite the grudge against people,” the boy said, “just like a crow.”

Goro smirked.

“Found you,” he said.

“Indeed you did,” the boy said. “Kurusu Akira. Just call me Akira. A pleasure to meet you once again.”

“Akechi Goro, although I’m sure you already know that,” Goro said, shaking his hand.

“What the eff?” the blond boy said. “Akira, you know this guy?”

“Yep,” Akira said. “He and I met a few days ago. We agreed to get lunch together this afternoon---the ‘prior arrangement’ I mentioned earlier. Sorry, guys. I’ll be back at Shujin soon, and we can go back to spending lunch together, yeah?”

“Sure,” the girl said. “Wouldn’t want you to miss out on your date, after all.”

“It’s not a date, miss---ah, pardon me, what’s your name?” Goro asked her.

“Oh! Sorry. I’m Takamaki Ann, and this is Sakamoto Ryuji.”

“A pleasure, Takamaki-san and Sakamoto-kun. Anyways---it’s not a date, Takamaki-san, we’re merely getting lunch together. I was rather hoping he and I could become friends, you see.”

“Uh-huh,” Takamaki said. “And what about the cryptic shit you just said to each other?”

“A reference to our last discussion,” Goro said easily. It wasn’t even a lie.

“We’re going to be late,” Akira said, checking his phone. “Ann, Ryuji, I’ll see you guys later?”

“Course, dude,” Sakamoto said.

“Have fun, you two!” Takamaki said with a wave.

Akira waved back, then led the way back into the main part of the studio.

“See? That wasn’t so bad,” Akira said quietly as he and Goro made their way around the crowd.

“Holding grudges? Really? _That_ was the best you could come up with?” Goro answered. “I expected you to make a joke about a murder of crows or something.”

“I thought it might be too obvious.”

“Something tells me that doesn’t normally stop you.”

“Normally, my soulmate’s life isn’t at stake,” Akira said. “Come on. To the Metaverse.”

**Author's Note:**

> This one's a whole five days late, I know. I almost didn't finish it. But I did, and I don't completely hate it.
> 
> The final version of this work is actually only about two-thirds of what the original draft looked like. I cut out multiple sections around the beginning. Hopefully it doesn't affect the story as a whole. I may or may not continue this work later, because there are still some things I'd like to write in.
> 
> Also, I have no idea what the title for this fic was originally supposed to be. Might rename it if I come up with a better title.
> 
> I had to remove one of my tags because it was too long. The tag was "why wait to crush your illegitimate father's conspiracy from the inside when you could just reveal it on live tv?"
> 
> As usual, please let me know in the comments what you think!
> 
> EDIT (1/25/2021): A sequel is in the works! I have nine chapters written so far and intend to begin posting within the next few weeks. It also features some chatfic elements that I'm very excited about. I don't have a title for the sequel work yet (or for the series), so I'm open to suggestions!
> 
> SECOND EDIT (2/8/2021): Apparently the P5 protagonist now has an official birthday and it's February 10. I'd picked January 7, so I've adjusted the story accordingly to match his canon birthday. He starts searching for his soulmate in May, so I changed the line about starting 4 months after his birthday to starting 3 months after his birthday.


End file.
